Informational Interviewing

This assignment includes these three components:
Reading/research as described below.
A written assignment that must be submitted to me via Canvas.
A discussion post from you, plus a reply to at least one of your classmates.
Prepare for the Interview (someone who works in the field you are most interested in now):

 Questions You Might Want to Ask (or you can ask your own questions):

What is a typical day in your line of work?

How did you get started in this field?

What is your specific background and experience?

What entry-level jobs are best for learning as much as possible in this field?

What salary can one expect at entry level? After 5 years?

What is the typical career path for advancement? And how much education is required to enter the field?

What training, education, skills do I need to enter into the field?

What do you like best about your work? Least?

How many hours a week do you usually work?

What other occupations are closely related to this one?

What type of changes are occurring in the field?

What is the employment outlook in this field in the future?

How would they describe the working environment/culture?

What general advice would you have for someone considering this field of work?

Conduct the Interview with the person who works in your field of interest.Ask them the questions above or any others you came up with. Remember to take good notes. At the end of the interview, thank them for their time, ask if they know someone else in the field who might also give you their perspective. Ask if it’s okay to stay in contact with them occasionally if you have additional questions that come up.

Complete your Q&A form
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 OR write up your informational interview report. Submit it to me via Canvas (the Q&A form or the interview).

For the Q&A form
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, I prefer your answers to be typed. You can scan and upload them to me or you can type them into the fillable form. If you are a little technologically challenged, I’ll even accept a photo of your written work. Please make sure that your answers are comprehensive enough. I will check to see that you have at least 1000-1200 words.

If you choose to write a paper/report instead, it needs to be a minimum of 1000-1200 words, which is approximately 2 pages, single spaced in 12 font. The paper should include everything you learned from this person.

After the Interview:Review your notes, and fill in anything you didn’t write down in the interview before you forget what they said! Make sure to send them a thank you note afterward (A short, hand-written note or even an e-mail is okay – just say thanks, mention one thing you learned from them or how it was helpful to you, and sign the thing!)

This assignment (7B) is worth 20 points (along with 5 points for 7A) for a total of 25 points out of a possible 100 points for the entire class. Please note that I grade this assignment on how much meaningful content you provide. The more meaningful text you have and the more information you provide, the more points I will give you.